18/5/2017. Melbourne (Wollert)
A lovely warm night - we even had to stick our feet out of the doona. We had a leisurely breakfast, went for a walk around this village which is fully sold except for 4 one bedroom homes, all did our 'daily challenges' and then it was time to go for a drive.
We went to a suburb called Doreen where we bought fish and chips and then went on to Yan Yean Reservoir, where we sat in the sun overlooking the water and enjoyed the nicest fish and chips we've had for a long time. The sky was blue, and hardly a breath...

17/5/2017. Daylesford to Melbourne
Bob's Birthday.
A warmish night and even the morning was not as cold as it has been. No bright sun this morning. We did our few chores and then started on our trip to Melbourne, only 114km. We left the caravan at Daylesford as there are spare beds in warm homes waiting for us in Melbourne. We took our time and had lunch at Gisborne. The scenery was outstanding, and we crested a hill just out of Gisborne and it was like we were on top of the world, overlooking the tree tops. Lots of autumn colours, mostly...

Not knowing if I have packed the right clothes- warm in LA, cool in SLC and even cooler in Chicago and NY. But the bags are heavy, and I still have not put in my shoes - which shoes, sneakers, casuals, sandals and going out shoes. Oh just too many.
And what about another sweater? No , one is enough, and an old jacket so when I leave NY I can also leave the jacket!

April 12, 2017 – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
We thought we’d get an early start this morning, but when we arrived in the Terrace at 7:15 a.m., there was not a seat to be had. So, we waited until about 7:50 and went back up. By then there was a place to sit.
After breakfast, we topped up the tram card at the office in the terminal. Then, we took off for the Shrine of Remembrance and the Royal Botanic Garden. While we were waiting for the tram, we saw a mynah bird and the most colorful birds which we’ve seen on this trip. Patsy will tell...

April 11, 2017 – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Today proved to be a big disappointment. Because of the bad weather last night, we were late getting into Melbourne. Instead of getting here at 1 p.m., we didn’t arrive until 4 p.m. This meant that the trip to see the fairy penguins, which was to be one of the highlights of this trip, had to be cancelled. We would not be able to get there before they paraded in from the sea.
So, instead of going to Phillips Island, we took the tram into Melbourne. We went to the Eureka Skydeck which is 88...

April 3, 2017 – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
When we came back from breakfast this morning, the cabin crew had put balloons in our cabin and had a card wishing Patsy a Happy Birthday.
Our tour today was 7 hours, and we had debated if we really wanted to do it. We are glad that we went ahead because it turned out to be one of the best tours we’ve done. Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained a lot of the history of the area as well as talked about the animals. The 1st park which we visited was the You Yangs Park. While it looked...

Well folks, she is on the move again.
This has been a stop start trip for the last couple of months. Initially the trip was going to be Russia, Scandanavia, England/Scotland, Ireland but things changed and sister in law Maureen wasn't ready to go this time of year and John is unable to travel at present.
Daughter Eloise and our pseudo daughter Vanessa then took up the baton and decided to make the trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow and of course, John wanted me to go along when there was an opportunity to go with someone so I invited myself...

Hello Dear Readers,
It's that time again. Maree and I are off tomorrow morning on our trip to the Americas. First stop will be in LA where we will somehow manage to arrive on Wednesday nearly four hours before we leave. Such are the vagaries of the International Date Line.
It seems that we will have the pleasure of two Wednesdays. We leave Melbourne at 10.15 am and arrive in Los Angeles at 6.45 am also on Wednesday.
We will try to keep you up to date with our trip - photos and descriptions.
Happy reading,
Jack & Maree

Next stop Melbourne. Melbourne is the capital of the State of Victoria. It is Australia's second largest city and a population of more than 4.5 million. Melbourne was founded 50 years after Sydney but unlike Sydney which had been built with the blood and sweat of Britain's outcasts, Melbourne's streets never echoed with the clank of chains and shackles. The new colony was built on the banks of the Yarra River by free settlers keen to establish a prosperous life for themselves.
It is a green and welcoming city. It is famous as being home to...

After a 3 1/2 hour flight and two time zones we arrived in Melbourne airport. Although we were the first to get off the plane, we encountered huge snaking lineups for immigration. When we updated our passports in 2013 the new electronic ones were not available. This resulted in our being in the "other" category in a line along with 600 others - not a good system. By the time we got our rental car we had nearly eaten up our 2 hour time zone advantage.
Our destination was Warrnambool on the Great Ocean highway. The weather was cool and windy,...

We arrived in Melbourne in light showers and found the downtown location to pick up our apartment keys for our three day stay. Our Garmin GPS is working well after finding it used on EBay loaded with Aussie, Kiwi, N. America plus Europe maps!! Our one bedroom apartment was in St. Kilda, an upscale area three blocks from the ocean. It had a fully equipped kitchen and washer/dryer allowing us to catch up. Friends we had met on the cruise booked in an adjacent building and we got together for dinner and a long walk to scout out the...

31 January
Happy 90th, Dad.
Up early this morning as we had to break camp and leave the site by 10; not sure how long it will take us, packing up for the first time.
All went very well, away by 10 on the dot (took a couple of hours!) and drove back to the Milawa Cheese Factory for brunch. A bit disappointing, wouldn't recommend it. Anyway, said goodbye to Carolyn and headed south.
We drove down the King Valley, it narrowing as we reached the head of the valley at Cheshunt South, a very pleasant drive. Then the road climbed and wound its way...